


Blindsided

by IheartJack0023



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M, Literature, Romance, fan fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-09-18 02:53:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9363239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IheartJack0023/pseuds/IheartJack0023
Summary: The Freedom Pirates weren't trying to find One Piece. Their captain didn't care about becoming king of the pirates. No. What the ragtag group of ex-slaves that made up the crew wanted was to free as many slaves as they could and take down as many world nobles along the way. If forming an alliance with the infamous Revolutionaries would help them on their mission, then so be it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be taking place during the time skip~

The commanders of the Revolutionary Army whom were in Baltigo at that moment were all sat in an oblong, round table. At one end sat their newly appointed Chief of Staff, Sabo, and at the other end sat their much-respected leader, Monkey D. Dragon.  

“You should all know about what happened at Marineford by now,” said Dragon. “And you should all know that with Whitebeard’s death, the balance of power in the world is going to start shifting. I wanted to inform all of you to prepare yourselves; we’ll have to gather the other revolutionary leaders from around the world soon.” 

Everyone nodded in response to let their leader know that they understood what was to come; a serious silence filled the air for a few moments.  

“Also,” added Dragon, “I'm considering making an alliance with a certain group of people.”  

The man was not met with any nods this time. Rather, he watched his fellow revolutionaries exchange confused glances. That was not something that they ever expected to hear from their leader’s mouth.  

“Who could we possibly ally ourselves with?” asked Emporio Ivankov. Dragon smirked slightly, which unnerved a few of the commanders.  

“It's come to my attention,” began Dragon, “from many of our newer recruits who were ex-slaves, that there's a certain group of people out there that have been sailing through the new world and freeing slaves.” 

Sabo furrowed his eyebrows in thought. He didn't remember hearing about any group like that. But he could see why Dragon would consider making an alliance with these people. They had converging goals or so it would seem. And if they were able to free slaves on several occasions on their own, then they could, if proven trustworthy, become a strong asset to have.  

He watched as Dragon pulled out a stack of papers and spread them out at the center of the table. On closer inspection, Sabo noticed that they were wanted posters—nine of them.  

“They call themselves the ‘Freedom Pirates’,” explained Dragon. “According to my sources, they're all ex-slaves. Their captain, after having escaped, created the crew with the intention to help free slaves about a year or so.  Their collective bounty is already 1,850,000,000.” 

“What?!” shouted some of the commanders.  

“They're pirates AND they're directly going against the celestial dragons,” explained Sabo. “It makes sense.”  

“Sabo,” said Dragon. “I want you to find them and ask them personally if they could meet with us—on neutral ground, of course.” 

Sabo's eyes widened at the command. He had not expected to be the one to be sent out as a messenger; he was the Chief of Staff now after all!  

“I also suggest you bring Koala with you,” said Dragon. “Her past may make her more trustworthy to them.” Dragon noticed the skeptical look on the blond’s face. “This is a very delicate situation,” he stated. “They have the potential to become a very powerful, but I have no way of knowing how they'll react to our request so I need someone who can handle this situation carefully to go.”  

Sabo nodded at the man in acceptance as his face settled back into a neutral expression.  

“You're all dismissed,” said Dragon.  



	2. Chapter 2

When Sabo told Koala about their mission, he was met with excitement. She had heard about the Freedom Pirates before and was curious about them; of course, this only made Sabo wonder even more why he had never heard of this group. In response to his furrowed brows, Koala told him that she socialized a lot more than he did so she had learned about them the  same way Dragon had. 

The following day, the two had set off with the lead that Dragon had given them on their location. Luckily, it seemed, the crew of pirates weren't too far from them; within a week, the two revolutionaries had found the ship. 

On said ship, the crew all stood on deck surrounded by several ex-slaves. After having freed them, the crew’s resident blacksmith and inventor, Rowan, had quickly removed the wretched collars that were meant to prevent them from escaping. He had become incredibly proficient at removing them from experience. The rest of the crew members were either seated on the deck floor or standing by the railing of the ship as one of them, Anastasia, addressed the newly freed slaves.  

“Alright,” she said, “You guys have a choice to make now, but either way, once we reach land, you will all be on your own. You can try to find a way back to your homes, though that may be extremely difficult if not impossible for some of you. You can start a new life wherever we dock. Or you can go join the revolutionary army and help to take down the corrupt government and those damn celestial dragons and nobles. Once we reach land, we’ll give you each some money to help you start off on whatever decision you choose.” Anastasia was about to say something else when one of her crew members spoke up.  

“There's a ship heading our way; it’s small though,” said their navigator, Satchiko. Everyone turned to look in the direction that the navigator was facing. Heading straight toward them was, indeed, a small ship.  

“I can see two people on board,” stated Anya, the crew’s information-gatherer. Her sight shifted from the foreign ship to Anastasia. 

“I can sense only two presences on it,” said Anastasia. “Are they flying a flag?” She heard Kaito let out an exasperated sigh.  

“Yeah,” he said. “It's the Revolutionary Army.”  

“Why are two, presumably, revolutionaries heading our way? Last I checked, they didn't give a damn about pirates,” said Keiji, their shipwright.  

“Well, we’ll be finding out soon,” said Anya as the revolutionaries’ ship neared their own. Once the foreign ship was close enough to them, Kaito addressed them. 

"What is your business here, revolutionaries?" he questioned. 

"We have a message from our leader for you guys," said the male revolutionary. Kaito raised an eyebrow at the pair skeptically. The male had a determined look on his face; blond hair could be seen peeking out from under his top hat; the female had a gentle smile on her face and her eyes were looking up at him expectantly. Light brown hair framed her soft features. Kaito looked back toward his crew. He met all of their eyes before stopping at Anastasia's.  

"Anne," he said, knowing that she could not see his stare.  

"They don't seem to be a threat," she told him. "Let them on so we can speak to each other better." Kaito nodded and told the two revolutionaries to tie their small ship to the pirates' larger one. Once that was done, they climbed onto the pirates' ship.  

Sabo was able to recognize six of the people that were standing in front of him from their wanted posters. The two from the remaining wanted posters were nowhere in sight. Behind the six people was a group of about another dozen, none of them which he recognized. Sabo realized that everyone was staring at both and him Koala, waiting to hear what they had to say. 

"Our leader, Dragon-san," began Sabo, "would like your crew to meet with him to form an alliance." 

"We're pirates. Why the hell would you want to form an alliance with pirates?" asked Satchiko. 

"We can't be trusted," added Rowan.  

"We could help each other out," said Sabo.  

"We know what you guys have been doing," said Koala. 

"If we have an alliance, we can exchange information and lend each other manpower and supplies; it might help to save more slaves than either of us could alone." 

"We have all of the information we need," hissed Anya.  

"And we've been doing perfectly fine on our own," added Keiji.  

"We could be a bigger help getting the slaves back home too," said Sabo. "Or we could give them a place to go if they don't have one." 

"We've already been sending people over to you guys," said Kaito. Sabo sighed in exasperation. These guys were stubborn.  

He saw the five of the six wanted pirates were sending glares his way. The one that wasn't was also the only one that had yet to speak. He hadn't recognized her at first. She looked different than she had in her poster. Her hair was different. It was, unlike in her poster, purple. It was also a shorter length and half of her head was shaved. As he spoke with the rest of the crew, he had seen her pull out a cigarette and light it before putting it into her mouth. That was when he recognized her; she had also had a cigarette in her mouth in her wanted poster. She looked to be staring both at him and past him. Her eyes didn't seem to focus on anything specific, which unnerved Sabo.  

He observed the others that were standing behind them. They were staring at him and Koala with both fear and curiosity evident on their faces. He noticed how their clothes differed from those of the wanted pirates—they looked more worn and torn; Sabo realized that these people must have been slaves.  

“You guys can't deny that he does have a point,” said a voice. Sabo looked over to see that it was the purple-haired girl that had spoken. She held her cigarette between her right index and middle finger. He watched as the smoke slowly slipped out of her mouth as she spoke. “It could be useful to have them to rely on if needed,” she pointed out. He watched as the rest of the crew turned to look at her with surprised looks on their faces. 

“I can play nice,” she said with a shrug as she put the cigarette back into her mouth. They turned their attention back to Sabo and Koala.  

“Alright,” said Kaito with a sigh. “We will agree to meet with your leader, but that does not mean that we are going to agree to this alliance.” He watched the blond’s face soften as a grin broke out onto it.  

“Great!” he exclaimed. “I'm Sabo, by the way.” 

“And I'm Koala,” added his companion. There crew relaxed slightly as they introduced themselves.  

“There are three others,” said Kaito. “Harper is our Doctor; he's in the clinic tending to the others,” he said as he pointed at the recently freed slaves. “Cassidy is our scholar; she's probably in the library. And Narumi—,” he was cut off by the sound of a door slamming open.  

“Food is ready!” shouted a feminine voice. Sabo watched as everyone except him, Koala, Kaito, Anastasia and Anya ran off to where the food would be.  

“That was Narumi, our chef,” finished Kaito.  

“You can join us if you're hungry,” said Anastasia as she put out the cigarette by pressing it against her brown pants. “She always makes too much anyway.” Anastasia turned around and headed toward their dining area; Sabo watched as her two other crew mates  followed her. When he saw Koala following after them as well, he figured that he should follow along too.  



	3. Chapter 3

Dinner turned out to be a lot more hectic than Sabo expected. He realized that Anastasia had not lied when she said that Narumi always made too much food. Still, most of them were scarfing down their food as if they were afraid that it would all suddenly disappear. It slightly reminded Sabo of how his own brothers ate.  

"Something wrong?” he heard someone ask. He looked to see that Anastasia had sat down across from him.  

“What?” He questioned her.  

“You stopped eating. There's still food on your plate, I believe. Do you not like it?” Sabo furrowed his brows at her choice of words: ‘I believe’. He considered that maybe it was just a verbal habit. 

“No,” said Sabo. “The food is great.” 

“If it's the others, don't mind them. This happens every time. It's why Narumi always makes so much food,” said Anastasia. There was a sad smile on her face. “Slaves often don't get fed well so they tend to get a bit out of hand when they have food available. Even after having been free for years, some of us still haven't been able to break that habit. Of course, it's always upsetting for Harper because many of them tend to overeat which leads to stomach aches and vomiting.”  

Sabo bit his lip nervously. He had been with the revolutionaries for a long time now. And he had helped on many, many occasions to free slaves, but he had never spent time with them. The only ex-slave he had spent time around was Koala. It's not that he outright avoided spending time with them, but he did prefer being alone.  

He watched as Narumi brought a plate filled with food over and set it in front of Anastasia.  

“Meat is on the left and your veggies are on the right as usual,” said Narumi. “Eat your veggies this time.” Anastasia stuck her tongue out at the chef in response. “I'm serious!” exclaimed Narumi before walking away.  

Sabo realized something then—as he watched Anastasia’s right hand pat against the table repeatedly until her hand came to rest upon the fork, which she then grabbed—he realized that this girl sitting before him was blind. He started to move around his seat anxiously—should he help her, he wondered. Then again, he thought, her crew weren't paying her any mind. Maybe she didn't need any help; she was just eating after all. She was probably used to it. But what was a blind woman doing on a pirate crew with a bounty on her head, he thought. 

“Stop fidgeting,” Anastasia said as she stared right at him. Her eyes, Sabo noticed, were a muddy brown—they looked like anyone else’s eyes, he noted, but her state didn't seem focused. He felt like she was staring both right at him and right through him.  

“I can hear it,” she continued, “and it's annoying.” Sabo complied and stopped moving. He continued to eat his food after watching her take another bite. He looked over to see Koala, unsurprisingly, engaged in conversation with several other people. He sighed before returning to his food. 

Anastasia stood up from her seat just as Sabo finished his food. Her plate was only half empty, the vegetables still sat on the plate untouched. Sabo got up from his own seat and reached out to her. As his fingers brushed against her clothed arm, he saw her flinch backwards while a brief flash of fear crossed her features.  

"What?” she hissed at the man after stepping further away from him.  

“I just um—,” started Sabo awkwardly, “I thought that maybe—well—.” But Anastasia didn't need him to finish the sentence. There was always a reaction; there were different types of reactions, but this had to be one of the worst. Anastasia hated being pitied and she hated when people thought she was weak. She had a feeling that  when he had started to fidget that he must have noticed that she was blind and now she was being proven correct. 

“No,” she growled out at him. “I don't need any damn help.” Sabo gulped as he felt his stomach drop with guilt. He watched her as she walked away from him. She turned at the exact moment that she reached the edge of the table. She walked straight to the door. She reached out at the exact distance and angle needed to touch the doorknob. She turned it and then walked out slamming the door behind her. The dining hall was filled with silence as Sabo watched everyone's attention turn to him. He felt his cheeks begin to heat up; he angled his hat downward so that it covered the upper half of his face from view, but it was quickly flicked back up. 

“You realized it, huh?” asked Kaito. Sabo nodded. “She doesn't like people knowing if she can help it because she doesn't want to be treated specially so don't treat her any different because of it, okay? Don’t underestimate her. She can take care of herself.”  

Sabo nodded at the man’s words. He wondered if he should go apologize to Anastasia. Would she even accept his apology, he thought. But after seeing the pointed look that Koala was sending his way, he decided that it didn't matter whether she accepted it or not. He had to go apologize.  

He exited the dining area and found her sitting on the railing of the ship, facing out to sea. Sabo started to wonder if she had always been blind. Had she ever gotten the chance to see the ocean? If she had, she probably missed the sight, he mused.  

"You just gonna stand there or did you plan on actually doing something?" He heard Anastasia say. She had turned her head to face in his direction. He wondered how she kept doing that—how she always seemed to know where he was.  

"I—," began Sabo as he walked up to her, "I wanted to apologize." He stood by her, his hands gripping onto the railing in front of him staring at the swaying water before them. Her head turned back to face the ocean again after his words. He heard her sigh. He turned to look at her and watched her pull out a cigarette and light it. He watched the way her lips curved around the thin object as she inhaled and the way her nose flared when she exhaled.  

"That's not a healthy habit," commented Sabo as she inhaled again.  

"Neither is being a pirate. Or a revolutionary, for that matter," she replied after an exhale. Sabo couldn't help but chuckle. She was right, after all. Both of them were putting their lives at risk on a daily basis by doing what they did. 

"You have a point," he agreed. "Maybe smoking isn't that big of an issue then." She exhaled and scrunched her nose up.  

"Can you tell that to Narumi?" She asked. "She keeps trying to get me to drink tea instead. And to eat vegetables. She won't stop going on about me needing to have a balanced diet." Sabo couldn't help but smile at the girl, though he knew that she wouldn't see it. 

"She must care about you a lot then," he said. Anastasia huffed and exhaled another mouthful of smoke.  

"I really can handle myself, y'know," she said. Sabo could tell that she wasn't just talking about eating habits anymore. "I know this ship like the back of my hand. I've got really good memory when it comes to memorizing the layouts of places. And I've got an incredibly keen sense of hearing, if you didn't notice already." She pressed the cigarette against the side of the railing, effectively putting it out.  

"Have you—," he hesitated. "Have you always been like this?" 

"Like what? A girl? Since I was born. A pirate? Since a year and a half ago. A smoker? Almost two years of that now. Come on. I know what you mean. And I know that you know that. But I want you to say it. I hate when people act like just saying the word is a taboo. How do you think that makes me feel?"  

Sabo bit his lip gently. He had never really thought about that. He had never really thought that not saying something could hurt someone's feelings. But it made sense, he thought.  

"Have you always been blind?" He asked, this time without any hesitation. He watched as her lips upturned into a soft smile. 

"No," she said. "Two years. Shortly after which I started smoking. And then I became a pirate." 

"Sounds like an eventful two years." 

"It has been." It was silent between them for some time—a peaceful silence; one that Sabo could enjoy. He lost himself in the sounds of the ocean hitting against the ship until Anastasia spoke up again. 

"The worst thing," she said in a voice so low that he could have easily missed it, "is that I'm starting to forget what everything looks like." The smile that was spread across her face was a sad one and it pained Sabo to look at it. Anastasia apologized when he didn't respond. 

"I don't know why I told you that," she said. "I haven't told anyone else about that. I don't want my crew to worry about me anymore than they already do." 

"Maybe you just needed to get it off your chest," suggested Sabo. Anastasia hummed in response. 

"Can I ask a favor of you?" She inquired. Sabo nodded before quickly realizing that she couldn't see his gesture.  

"Sure," he said. 

"What do you look like? Can you describe yourself to me? Please." Sabo couldn't refuse such a simple offer, but he had also never been asked something of that nature so he had no idea what to say.  

"Umm...well," he said. Anastasia's smile grew a little brighter as she realized that Sabo had no idea where to begin. She decided that she should help him a bit. 

"What color is your hair?" She asked him. 

"Blond." 

"Is it long?" 

"Kinda? It reaches the base of my neck. And it's wavy-ish." 

"Eyes?" 

"Brown." Anastasia hummed in response, trying to form somewhat of an image in her head, but every image that her mind could conjure up just didn't seem right. The man beside her sure sounded handsome, but she couldn't seem to imagine a face that would fit how handsome the voice was. It was frustrating, which caused her to sigh in exasperation. Sabo couldn't help to think that her frustrated sigh was caused by him so he apologized. 

"What?" She asked. 

"I didn't do a good job at describing I know so—." 

"Shut up," she said, which caught the boy off guard. "It's not your fault. My imagination isn't good enough." She paused for a moment. "Can I ask something else of you?" 

"Yea." 

"Can I touch your face?"  

It was an innocent request, he thought. So he agreed. And when her hands met his face, he couldn't stop thinking about how soft her skin was and how much he enjoyed her gentle touch. She had started at the top, tracing his eyebrows, and her hands slowly slid down across his eyelids and his nose and his cheeks and his lips. He had felt his breath catch in his throat as her fingers glided across his lips. He had noticed that she had lingered for a few seconds longer over the scar on his left eye so he wasn't surprised when her right hand went back up to it.  

"How did this happen?" She asked him.  

"When I was a kid," explained Sabo, "a boat I was on was shot down by a celestial dragon. I almost died." 

"So we have that much in common then," she said with a grin. 

"What?" 

"Scars from those bastards." Her hands slid further up and into his hair. He had removed his hat so that it wouldn't get in her way, but now he regretted doing that. It wasn't because he didn't like her touching his hair. In fact, he felt the opposite. He enjoyed the feeling of her running her fingers through his hair a lot—which was the issue; he felt like he enjoyed it too much. He didn't want her to stop. 

He heard a soft giggle escape her throat.  

"Your hair is really wavy! It's so soft too." Sabo felt disappointed when she removed her hands from his hair and set them back onto the railings, but the happy smile that spread across her face was enough to replace that feeling with one of satisfaction. He was satisfied that he had brought that smile to her face. His thoughts drifted back to why he was there in the first place. He hoped that the crew would decide to ally themselves with Dragon; otherwise, he wasn't sure if he'd ever see her again and, though he wasn't exactly sure what to make of the feeling he felt in his chest, he knew he definitely wanted to see her again. 

"You two should stay the night," suggested Anastasia. "It'd be dangerous in these waters at night with such a small boat." Sabo couldn't help but to wholeheartedly agree.  



	4. Chapter 4

Sabo and Koala had left the Freedom Pirates the following day. They had sailed back to Baltigo island and informed their success to Dragon. He, and a few chosen others, which included Sabo, were to meet the pirates in three weeks time at Crystal Shore Island—the designated neutral ground. They had left for Baltigo island a week after Sabo and Koala had arrived back at Baltigo to give themselves enough time to get to Crystal Shore Island. They got to the island earlier than they had expected, which left them with not much to do, but wait, which made a certain Chief of Staff anxious.  

"Can you stop your pacing?" Said Koala to the blond before her. 

"What?" He asked as he stopped in his tracks. He'd been lost in his thoughts and hadn't noticed that he had been pacing back and forth. Koala rolled her eyes at him.  

"I know you're nervous about seeing that girl you like, but you need to relax," she said. 

"W-what?!" Shouted Sabo. "What are you talking about?" 

"Come on; you know I'm not oblivious. Also, I totally saw you guys having that little intimate moment," said Koala with a grin stretching across her face.  

"Nothing happened!" Defended Sabo as his face started to become red. "She just wanted to be able to picture what I look like." 

"Hmm. There must be more to it than that. She didn't ask to touch my face—only yours."  

Sabo's blush deepened at her words. The truth was that he was nervous to see her. And he was worried that they wouldn't accept the terms of the alliance. He was wondering how she felt about seeing him again—if she felt anything at all. He did think that Koala had made a good point, though. Anastasia seemed to have given him an attention that she hadn't given anyone else and that made him feel good—he felt special and he wanted to preserve that feeling, but he wasn't sure if he could and that scared him. 

*** 

There were two ships anchored at Crystal Shore Island. And there were two groups of people standing on the sparkling sand that had given the island its name. They stood opposite each other, serious looks plastered onto their faces. 

On one side stood Monkey D. Dragon. To his right stood Sabo. And behind them were a select few other members of the revolutionary army. On the opposite side stood the Freedom Pirates—all nine of them. Dragon and Kaito had been doing most of the talking; they had discussed what the terms of their alliance would be—what each group would benefit from it. 

"Ok, well, this actually sounds like an appealing proposition now, Dragon-san," said Kaito. He knew that Dragon was powerful and, thus, he made sure to be respectful to the man.  

"So is it a deal?" Asked Dragon, holding his hand out to the pirate.  

"Ah, well," said Kaito. "It's not my decision to make." Dragon dropped his hand and raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "It's the Captain's decision." 

"You're not the Captain?" Questioned Sabo, speaking up for the first time throughout the meeting. He had been partly listening to the terms being discussed between Dragon and Kaito, but he kept find his attention drifting away from them and toward the blind woman beside Kaito. He had noticed that she had brought a guide cane with her. He assumed that she needed to use it since she didn't know the territory that she was on by memory like she did with their ship. She had strapped the cane to her belt after a while, having grown tired of holding it, and pulled out a cigarette to smoke. His attention was only pulled away from her at Kaito's statement, which caught him by surprise. He had been under the impression this entire time that he was the captain. After all, he did have the highest bounty in the crew at 400,000,000 beri.  

"Nope," said Kaito with a laugh. "This always happens. Isn't that right, Captain-chan?" He looked over to Anastasia, directing the question at her. She exhaled a mouthful of smoke before removing the came from her belt and smacking him on the back of the head with it. 

"I told you not to call me that!" She shouted at him. At this point, Sabo was wide-eyed. This small, blind girl with a bounty of only 100,000,000 beri was the captain? How? 

“Well, that is surprising information,” said Dragon. Anastasia scoffed at him. She threw aside her cigarette, letting it sink into the sand, and leaned her cane against the top of her shoulder.  

“Maybe you guys shouldn't be so quick to judge,” she said.  

“But your bounty is so low!” exclaimed Sabo.  

“Because I tend to hang out on the sidelines. And a lot of people, like you guys, are under the impression that Kaito’s the captain,” she explained. “He's actually my first mate.”  

Kaito grinned at the dumbfounded faces of the revolutionaries before him. He always loved seeing people’s reactions to this little tidbit of information.  

“Anyway, back to business,” said Anastasia. “The deal does sound promising, but I want to make one thing clear before I accept.” She pointed the cane at Dragon. “This is only an alliance. We are not nor will we ever be your subordinates. These guys,” she pointed at her crew momentarily before pointing the cane back at Dragon, “will follow my orders and my orders only. In the end, we’re still pirates so we do whatever we want. That's all,” she said as brought her cane back down to the floor. Though Anastasia could not see it, all of the revolutionaries beside Dragon were left open mouthed at how rude she was being to their leader. The pirates on the other hand couldn't help but shake their heads because they knew their captain and how she was. Dragon couldn't help but chuckle in response. This girl was, most definitely, amusing.  

“Alright,” said Dragon as he stuck his hand back out, this time in front of Anastasia. “I agree to that.”  

Anastasia didn't say or do anything in response. Kaito nudged her in the side.  

“Shake his hand,” he said.  

“What?” She asked. “What hand? Where?” Kaito sighed before grabbing her left hand and placing it in Dragon’s much larger one. He watched as Anastasia’s mouth took an o-shape in realization. Her face started to turn red in embarrassment. Dragon’s grip was strong and firm and, much to Dragon’s surprise, Anastasia was able to return it as such.  

He could tell that she was a natural born leader and that she would definitely prove to be a valuable ally.  

It took Sabo some time to get over the initial shock of learning that Anastasia was, in fact, the captain of the freedom pirates, but once he had he couldn't help but to feel even more intrigued by her. 

Once the alliance had been agreed upon, they decided to bring the Freedom Pirates to their headquarters in Baltigo. It would become a place for them to stay and rest whenever they didn't have anything to do, much like it was for the revolutionaries themselves. Sabo was glad for that part of the alliance because it meant that he would have more chances to spend time with Anastasia and he was looking forward to that.    



	5. Chapter 5

Anya had come back to Baltigo with some valuable information about a group of slavers who captured people to be sold to the celestial dragons and nobles. She had learned the location of their next target as well as what route they would take to get there. This was, Anastasia realized, a golden opportunity. Not only could they save many people from being captured, but they could free whatever people the slavers had already captured; and then these people would never have to know the horrors of being owned by the horrible people that would e willing to buy them. This fact, along with the fact that they had been at Baltigo for two weeks straight, made her anxious to go.  

Anastasia did like the revolutionary headquarters. The place was confusing to get around at first, but Sabo helped her memorize the layout. And that was the best part of being there; she had greatly grown to enjoy the company of the Chief of Staff. He would spend time with her whenever he wasn't busy and it was greatly appreciated on her part. But, still, being stuck there for two weeks made her restless. She wanted to be out on the sea again and she wanted some action.  

When Sabo had learned that Anastasia had gotten a lead and that her and the rest of her crew were going after said lead, he found said Captain and asked her to tag along. He didn't have anything to do in the meantime, he had told her, and he was eager to see them in action. She told him that he would get in the way. They worked a certain way—like clockwork, and he would mess that up. So he promised her that he would just be a spectator and, with that in mind, she allowed him to come with them. 

They ended up in a small, isolated town which was located on a not-so-small and not-so-isolated island. It was because of the town’s isolation, regardless of the island itself being a large trading port, that made it a target. The slavers knew that if anything happened at said town, the rest of the island wouldn't know until several days, if not more, later. In addition, the town wasn't protected by the marine force which protected the main part of the island. In other words, the Freedom Pirates were their only hope. 

Once the Freedom Pirates arrived at the island, Sabo made sure to stay out of everyone's way; he stood back and watched them do what they had grown used to doing. It was like a well-rehearsed dance and he couldn't help but to watch the lead dancer in awe. Anastasia was giving orders left and right and everyone followed them without questioning or hesitation. 

“Anya,” she had said, “go ahead and scope everything out. Check out the town and the city as well. I want to know the movement of the marines here even if the likelihood of us encountering them is incredibly low.” Then, “Harper, make sure you're ready to tend to any and all wounds." And, "Keiji and Satchiko, you will both stay here protecting the ship. Make sure it's ready to sail at a moment's notice. Cassidy, you'll help them with that." Last, "Kaito and Narumi will head in first. I want you guys to focus on taking down the slavers. Rowan and Anya will wait five minutes before going in themselves. Rowan, focus on finding and freeing any people that they have already caught. Anya, focus on getting the rest of the civilians out unharmed."  

Sabo had asked her, afterward, what she was to do.  

"Just give orders, of course," she had said at first with a face so serious that Sabo had failed to realize for a while that she had been joking. "I'm going to go now and find a good place where I can hear and sense everything," she had said truthfully. "I'll be on the sidelines and I'll stay there unless I'm needed, which doesn't happen often. And that's why my bounty is so low!"  

Sabo was still unsure about her role in the crew and that was primarily the reason that he wanted to tag along. She was the captain, he knew. And he could tell that she was a good one. She knew what she was doing and she had the ability to hold a commanding presence even if she seemed so frail to him. But still, the fact that she stayed on the sidelines bothered him—was it because her crew wanted to keep her safe? Or was she their trump card that they wanted to keep hidden until absolutely necessary? Maybe it was both, thought Sabo. But he wouldn't know until he was able to see her on the battlefield and, though he did want everything to go smoothly for Anastasia and the others, he wished that things would get to the point that they needed her to come in.  

That night, the slavers attacked the village, Anastasia's plan went into action, and Sabo's wish was granted. Everything had gone smoothly until the leader of the slavers appeared—Kaito and Narumi had been having no problem fighting against the slavers, but their leader was on a whole different power level and when he was told that his men were being slaughtered, he got pissed. Suffice it to say, Anastasia had to step in. She told Kaito and Narumi to finish off any straggling slavers so that they wouldn't get in her way; once they finished doing that, she had told them, they were to help Rowan and Anya get everyone to safety. And they went to do as they were told. Sabo remained hidden in the shadows, excitement coursing through his veins, as he finally got to see the woman who had captured his fascination so completely fight.  

The first thing she did was throw a smoke bomb, or at least that's what it appeared to be at first glance. Sabo later learned that it doubled as a noise bomb, but the sound that it emitted was at a frequency too low for most people to pick up. Anastasia's heightened sense of hearing, however, was able to easily pick it up and she used the sound like a bat would. The smoke gave her cover while she listened to the sound travel and bounce off of every object and living being in the area. It helped her quickly map out the area in her head. 

Once the smoke cleared, the slavers' leader attacked her. She easily dodged his attacks with, what Sabo noticed was, observation haki. She removed her guide cane from her belt and he watched as it grew in length; it came to resemble a staff slightly shorter than Sabo's pipe since she was of a shorter stature. She landed several blows on her enemy with it. The hits were incredibly powerful and Sabo had no doubt that the staff must have been covered in armament haki. 

Dodge. Hit. Dodge. Dodge. Hit. 

Whereas Kaito and Narumi seemed to be having difficulty fighting this man, Anastasia seemed to be defeating him with ease. And it was then that Sabo decided that she was indeed the crew's trump card and that she had earned the title of captain not based on leadership skills alone but also on strength. Her bounty, he mused, was incredibly misleading.  

And as he thought about all of that, he not once removed his eyes from her form. He found himself unable to look away. Her movements were hypnotic. She was just all around mesmerizing to him—and just when Sabo thought when couldn't get anymore smitten.  



	6. Chapter 6

Sabo was exhausted. He had been doing paperwork well into the night. He didn't stop until he realized that it was already three in the morning. He resolved to finish the following day and started on his way to his room in the revolutionary base. He stopped midway when he heard the sound of whimpering and muffled screaming. Sabo frantically looked around for the source of the sound; he quickly pinpointed it as coming from one of the bedrooms—one he recognized as Anastasia's. He knocked on the door. 

"Anne?" He questioned. "Everything okay?" When he didn't receive a reply, he tried to open the door only to realize that it was look. He cursed under his breath as he used his strength to force the door open. When he entered he saw Anastasia tangled in bed sheets. He could see her skin glistening from sweat due to the moonlight that was streaming in through the lone window in the room. The sounds that came out of her throat alternated between whimpers and low screams. Her fingers were gripping tightly onto the sheets and her chest rose and fell rapidly as if she couldn't breathe.  

Sabo slammed the door shut behind him and rushed to her side. He called her name repeatedly and shook her, trying to wake her up. When she finally awoke, he saw pure terror in her eyes. She pushed him back and moved back into the corner of her bed. She pulled her knees to her chest and stared in his direction with tears in her eyes. 

"Please, no more," she said in a voice he almost didn't believe came from her. It sounded so broken and lost. "Please don't hurt me anymore. That's enough. Please," she continued to beg as tears started to fall down her cheeks.  

"Anne," he said softly. "It's me. It's Sabo. It's okay now. Whatever you were dreaming about—it's gone, now." He slowly drew closer to her as he spoke until he was seated right in front of her on the bed.  

"Sa-a-b-bo?" She asked between sobs.  

"Yea," he said as he wrapped an arm around her body. He noticed that she flinched away from his touch, before leaning back into it a moment later. She did that often, though. 

"I can't see anything! Why can't I see anything?!" She asked, desperation in her voice. Her breathing grew even more ragged. Sabo felt his heart breaking as he watched the girl that he had fallen in love with over the past few months suffering. 

"I-I'm sc-c-car-r-red," she said. Sabo pulled her closer to him, wrapping his other arm around her. He planted a kiss on the top of her head.  

"There's no reason to be scared. I'll protect you from anything that'll try to hurt you. Okay?" She didn't respond, but that did seem to calm her down as her sobs did start to subside. Once her tears stopped and her breathing steadied, she pulled away from Sabo's embrace, leaving them both feeling colder. She rubbed away the tears from her cheeks and apologized to Sabo. 

"Don't do that," he told her. "I'm glad I was here. Does this happen often?" He watched her nod just barely.  

"It happens to most of us," she said. Her voice was a bit scratchy from everything that had happened. "They leave us with scars that are more than just physical." Sabo gritted his teeth at that. It made him upset that they had done this to her. That they had hurt this woman he found so beautiful and captivating.  

"Will you please stay with me Sabo?" She asked. "At least until I fall back asleep," she added.  

"Of course," he said before removing his boots and jacket. He lay down in the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms. "Go to sleep," he told her. "I'll keep you safe tonight."  

Anastasia sighed at the warmth that he was providing for her. It was different than the warmth of the bed sheets—but a good kind of different. His arms were wrapped around her tightly and it made her feel safe. She hadn't remembered feeling this safe since before she was kidnapped. It was nice to feel that again.  

She thought about the time she had spent with the man whose body was pressed against her own and she couldn't help but feel her chest start to flutter. She knew that she had grown to like him and his company, but what had just happened—that changed things. His being there for her and continuing to be there for her after it was all over—that just made her like him even more. She had never had someone to comfort her when she woke up in sweat and tears. In her crew, most of them suffered from their own nightmares so that was one aspect of their lives that they silently agreed to handle each on their own. Having someone else there with her made it easier. It made her feel lighter, less burdened.  

She angled her head upward to where she knew his face would be and sighed heavily. It was at times like these that she wished she had her sight back. If only for one moment; she just wanted to see what he looked like. Was his hair as bright as she imagined it? His eyes as dark? His grin as wide? His nose as sharp? She felt tears well up in her eyes again, but blinked them back. She knew that she needed to stop dwelling in the past like that. She needed to focus on the present. So if she couldn't experience the man beside her with sight, she would do it with every other sense she had. 

She nuzzled her face into his neck. He smelled like parchment ink and strawberries. It was an oddly comforting smell for her. The skin on his neck was soft, but she could feel how rough his hands were against the thin nightgown that she wore. She focused in on the sound of his breathing. She focused on its steady rhythm and, eventually, it lulled her to sleep.    

Sabo was tired, but he made sure to not fall asleep until he was absolutely certain that Anastasia had already fallen into a deep sleep. As he waited for her to fall into Slumberland, he rubbed her back. The thin material of the nightgown caught his attention. At first, he grew embarrassed but all perverted thoughts left his brain when he saw her skin.  

Sabo had never paid much attention to her choice of clothing until that moment; he had never realized that her usual outfit, which consisted of long pants and a long sleeve button up that was always buttoned up to the very top, kept most of her skin covered. He now realized why that was. Her body was littered with scars. Scars from cuts. Scars from burns. Scars from wounds that had to heal over more than once. The one that caught his attention the most, though, was on her chest—right in the center, just above her breasts, the brand of a slave. It was a scar that would announce her past to anyone who saw it.  

The scar moved from his line of sight as she nuzzled into his neck. He sighed softly. He shook off those negative thoughts from his mind. The past was in the past, he thought. He would help her get past it if she needed his help—he definitely didn't want her to keep having those nightmares—but right now he was going to focus on the current moment and he was going to enjoy it.


	7. Chapter 7

It had become a habit for Sabo to spend his nights keeping Anastasia company to help her with her nightmares. And, to Sabo's pleasure, she was getting easier to calm after she awoke from them. However, because of this new arrangement, Sabo's bed found itself unslept in for a little over a week. He only went to his room now to shower and change. He had started to wonder if he should just have her sleep in his room instead—being Chief of Staff meant that his room was somewhat nicer than the rest. 

Regardless, Sabo was more than glad with his new sleeping arrangements. Even if he was busy all day he knew that at the end of it, he would still be able to see her and spend some time with her. He was, however, dreading the day either of them would have to leave for a mission—he was dreading the day that she would have to wake up terrified without him there to comfort her. But for now, thought Sabo, he'd make her nights something for her to cherish. 

“My father,” she has told him one night, “was a pirate and my mother was the doctor who saved his life. After his crew left him for dead, he decided to stay with my mother because he had fallen in love with her. Then I was born. When I was ten, my mother died so my father and I decided to leave home. I spent the next three years at sea with him. He's the reason I always wanted to become a pirate. I was only at sea for three years because then he was killed. That's when I was taken and sold. And, as you know, it was horrible after that. I spent five long, dreadful years in the home of that celestial dragon that bought me. It was when I was 18 that I lost my sight. He hit me really hard in the back of my head so I got what's called cortical blindness. My eyes still work. My eyes are currently seeing, but my brain can't process those images anymore. Once he realized that I had lost my sight, he started preparing to try and sell me off. He said that he didn't like 'broken toys'. That's when me and Kaito, who had also been there with me for several years, decided to try and escape. After we did escape, we decided to start our own pirate crew. Because of our pasts we ended up saving slaves when we ran into them and so our crew grew. In the end, we decided to stick to saving people from enduring what we all had to."  

“I see,” Sabo had replied. “Was your father a well-known pirate.” Anastasia laughed. 

“No. He was the sharpshooter in a crew that nobody cared about.” 

“Then he would be proud of you for surpassing him as a pirate,” said Sabo with a grin. 

“I never thought about that,” said Anastasia as she appeared lost in thought for a moment. “What about your family?” She eventually asked. 

“I had two brothers. We weren't related by blood, but that didn't matter to us. I actually didn't remember them until recently. After the incident with the celestial dragon, I lost my memory and they thought I was dead. But I got my memory back recently. You've actually probably heard of both of my brothers.” 

“I have? Who are they?” 

“Portgas D. Ace and Monkey D. Luffy.” Sabo watched as Anastasia’s eyes widened in response. She placed her hand on his own comfortingly as the two sat in silence for a bit—it was her way of expressing that she understood that his brother’s death must have been, and probably still is, painful for him and that she would be there for him if he ever needed it. 

Anastasia was the one that broke the silence. 

“Can you introduce me to Luffy sometime?” She asked him.  

"Why?" he questioned.  

"I need to congratulate him for punching that damn celestial dragon at Sabaody Archipelago. I mean, how many pirates actually have the balls to do that?" 

"Besides your crew?" 

"I also want to let him know that if he ever needs to beat up anymore Celestial Dragons that he can give the Freedom Pirates a call." 

"Well, whenever I find out where he is, sure. But, just so you know, he'll get you into a lot more trouble than you bargained for.” 

“I would hope so,” she said with a grin stretching across her face. “What about your parents? Did you have any?”  Sabo bit his lip nervously. He had been actively avoiding telling her about them and his heritage for a while; he was afraid of how she would react because he knew just how much she despised nobles as well as celestial dragons. He considered lying to her. He could say that he was an orphan. He could say that he never knew his parents. But the thought of lying to the woman in front of him made his stomach turn—he didn't want to do. 

"Well," began Sabo after taking a deep breath, "I was never fond of them." He hoped that she would decide to not press any further. 

"Why?" She asked. 

"They're nobles and—." 

"What?!" Shouted Anastasia. She quickly pushed herself off of the bed and away from Sabo. The floor felt cold against her bare feet and her body was begging for his warmth, but she refused to oblige to it. Her heart ached at the newfound knowledge. She felt betrayed—completely and utterly betrayed. The man in front of her, who she had realized that she had fallen in love with, was the exact thing that she hated.  

"Anne," he said in a pleading voice. "Please just listen to me." 

"You're a liar!" 

"I didn't lie." 

"You didn't tell the truth!" She shouted, but then her voice grew quiet. "I can't believe I trusted you," her voice held a sadness in it that made Sabo himself for causing that sadness. This was the reaction that he had been afraid of. He didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want her to push him away. He didn't want her to hate him. But, Sabo could tell, those things were all about to happen. 

"You're nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing," she said. The fragility in her voice had disappeared. It was now cold and each word that she uttered became an icicle that stabbed at Sabo's heart. He wanted to say something back—to tell that she was wrong; that he could prove it to her, but he couldn't. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest and his mouth felt dry.  

"You damn noble," was the last thing that Anastasia said before she rushed out of the room, not caring about her lack of appropriate attire at that moment. Sabo did nothing but look after her. He thought that maybe she just needed some time alone. Maybe she just needed time to process the information. He let out a heavy sigh as he lay back down onto the bed that he had been seated on. He could smell Anastasia's scent on her pillow and sheets; it engulfed him, but the lack of the warm body that he was used to at his side made him feel more alone than he ever had. 

*** 

Anastasia didn't know what to do or where to go. She stood in the middle of the hallway in just her thin nightgown. She was cold and she was lost. She had run off in her emotional state without paying attention to where she was heading and now she had no way of seeing where she was. The walls were plain and held nothing that she could use as a marker to distinguish where she was. Her only hope now was bumping into someone, but she knew that because of how late it was that that was highly unlikely—most people were asleep. Thankfully for Anastasia, Nico Robin wasn't most people. 

"Ana-san," said Robin. "What are you doing out here dressed like that?" Anastasia felt her shoulders relax at the sound of the familiar voice. Over the past few months she had become friends with Robin through Koala. Often, when Sabo was busy, she would spend time with the two revolutionary females. 

"Ah. I got lost," said Anastasia. 

"I thought you knew this place well." 

"I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Help, please?" She asked with a pout. Robin smiled at the girl. 

"Of course," she said. "Would you like me to take you to your room?" 

"No," replied Anastasia a bit too quickly, which spiked Robin's curiosity.  

"Then how about to Koala's room?" She asked. Anastasia agreed to that and followed Robin's footsteps as she led the way. They knocked on Koala's door when they arrived, which woke up the room's inhabitant. Koala opened the door, her annoyance turning to surprise when she saw who it was that had woken her up. 

"What are you guys doing here?" She asked the two. "You should be in bed." She turned her attention to Anastasia. "Did Sabo not show up or something?" Anastasia was caught off guard. She hadn't told anyone about Sabo spending the nights with her; was it possible that Sabo had told her? 

"No. He's in my room," admitted Anastasia with distaste. Koala looked at the girl with surprise at her tone of voice. She grabbed onto Anastasia's arm and pulled her into the room, motioning for Robin to follow.  

"Okay. What happened?" Asked Koala as soon as the door to her room was shut.  

"He lied," said Anastasia. 

"How?" 

"He's from a noble family." 

"So?" 

"So he's a noble! That means he's just like them. They're all the same," hissed Anastasia. 

"Anne, you know Sabo and you know that he's not like them," Koala tried to reason. "That's why he left behind his life as a noble more than ten years ago." 

"That's not how it works. Once a noble, always a noble." 

"Yes, it is how it works!" Said Koala a bit louder. The situation was starting to get her worked up. "His past does not define who he is just like it doesn't define who you are or who I am; or are you suggesting that 'once a slave, always a slave'." 

"No, that's different. We—," Anastasia started, but Koala cut her off. 

"Stop being a damn hypocrite." Before anything more could be said, Anya appeared in the room. She had phased through the walls with the use of her devil fruit powers. 

"There you are!" exclaimed Anya. She paused when she saw the angry looks on Anastasia's and Koala's faces and felt the tense atmosphere in the air. "I've got information about a certain celestial dragon," she said, "who's leaving the safety of his kingdom. I've got a route; we can cut them off."  

"Alright," said Anastasia. "Tell everyone to meet up at the ship. We're gonna teach the world nobles that they have something to be afraid of now." And without another word, she left.  



	8. IheartJack0023

Sabo was upset when Anastasia left the room that night. He was upset when he stayed up waiting for her, but she didn't come back. He was upset when he was told that following morning that she had left with her crew in the middle of the night to chase after some celestial dragon. But he was furious when he got a call from Kaito an entire week later. 

Kaito's voice had been shaky when he had spoken; it didn't hold the confidence in it that Sabo was used to hearing and that made him worry. 

"It was a trap," Kaito had said. "Anne—she—she's been captured by the marines. She gave us the chance to escape, but she got caught. And we're not strong enough to get her out. Sabo, please. We know that you care about her. Please help us get her back." 

Sabo had been upset. He had been heartbroken that she had left without a word. He had been scared that she now hated him. And he had been angry that she had reacted like a child—refusing to sit down and talk about it and understand. He had been a mess of emotions on the inside, keeping it in because he was the Chief of Staff and he had responsibilities that he still needed to attend to. So when Kaito told him what had happened—when he had told him that she had been captured—all those mixed up emotions that had been trapped inside merged into fury. 

So he told Kaito and the others to stay put. And he left Baltigo—duties ignored—to go meet them. When he reached them, he couldn't help but notice the depressed aura that surrounded the ship. Every single one of them was upset by their captain's capture and he could tell that they were all blaming themselves for it. 

They had been circling a marine base from a safe enough distance, making sure that they weren't seen, while they waited for Sabo. Tt the biggest issue was the vice-admiral that was currently there—they knew that they weren't strong enough to defeat him; Anastasia herself hadn't been, but they also knew that Sabo was stronger. 

"The fact that she hasn't been able to escape on her own has me worried," Narumi had said. 

"They saw how powerful her haki was," Rowan had said. "They're probably keeping her weak somehow—maybe sedated." 

Sabo had remained mostly silent, like a predator, gauging, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. 

*** 

Anastasia was exhausted. Her muscles were stiff from sitting down on the hard, steel chair for so long. Her wrists hurt from how tight her handcuffs were. And she was in a hell of a lot of pain. 

This wasn't the first time that she had been beat until she was unconscious in her life, but it was the first time that it had been done by a marine—a vice-admiral, at that. He wanted information, he had said. He needed to know more about the Freedom Pirates. 

"What are you guys trying to pull? Why do you keep targeting world nobles?" He asked. 

"What? Do we have you guys scared?" teased Anastasia. That earned her a punch to the gut. "We're gonna take those damn bastards down," she said. She could taste blood in her mouth. "And we'll take down you damn marines too for following them like dogs with your tails between you legs." That earned her a punch to the face. She coughed up some blood this time. 

"You've chosen the wrong enemy, girl," he said. 

"You're chosen the wrong girl, enemy," she responded with a grin. That earned her a second punch to the face. This one knocked her and the chair that she was chained to over. She fell on her side; the side of the back of the chair pressed down against her arm with the help of the weight of the rest of her body—she knew that it would leave a nasty bruise. 

"You didn't think that was clever?" She asked the vice-admiral. 

"I'll turn you into an example for the rest of your crew," he said. "Maybe your captain will think twice before going after a world noble next time." 

"Sorry to burst your bubble, buddy," said Anastasia. "But that won't work." She was fidgeting with the handcuffs behind her back as she lay on the ground. Normally, she would've easily been able to break out of them using her haki, but she felt so weak as she lay there. What strength she had left, she was mostly using for her observation haki so that she could keep track of the vice-admiral's movements. 

"You marines are all so stupid," she said. She could tell that upon hearing the insult he was getting ready to punch her. "You don't even know who I really am. Get this information to your fellow marines, will you? My name is Delahaye D. Anastasia. Granddaughter of the great and infamous Delahaye D. Jacquotte. I'M the captain of the Freedom Pirates and you're sorely mistaken if you think that we'll go down that easily." Before the vice-admiral could utter a response, something crashed through the wall and straight into him.  

"You caught me in a really bad mood," said a new voice that Anastasia recognized as Sabo's. She was so relieved that he was there. She had spent the past week thinking about him—about his voice and his scent and his hair and, unavoidably, his noble lineage. And the more that she thought about him and the things that she had grown to love about him, the less she cared about his nobility. She had realized that Koala had been right and she wanted to apologize to Sabo, but she hadn't been sure how to. As she lay there, as she heard his voice again, firm and strong, she realized that the how didn't matter. 

"I'm sorry, Sabo!" She shouted out to the blond man. 

"This really isn't the time for that, Anne," he said as he parried an attack. 

"I shouldn't have reacted the way I did," she continued. "Your past doesn't matter to me. I don't give a damn who the hell gave birth to you. What matters is who you are now and I know who that is. The man you are now is strong and kind and would never look down on people because of something as stupid as status—and I love you for that." 

Anastasia's heart raced as she realized what she had said; she didn't mean for that last part to come out, but it had and now it hung in the air waiting for something—anything. 

Sabo had just barely dodged an attack. Her words had surprised him and made him lose his concentration for a moment. He could hardly believe his ears when he heard her confession, but he knew what he had heard. 

"Well, what kind of person would I be if I didn't accept such a heartfelt apology?" Asked Sabo as he landed several blows on the vice-admiral. 

"A bad one!" Shouted Anastasia. Sabo was ready to finish the fight. He had a woman who's feelings he needed to return. 

"Then," he said readying an incredibly powerful final blow, "apology accepted." Sabo hit his enemy square in the chest with a powerful burst of haki that sent him flying through one of the walls and out into the ocean. He quickly rushed over to Anastasia, removed her restraints and helped her up. 

"Your crew's here to rescue you," he told her. "We should let them know that you're still alive." 

"Of course I am," she said, standing on her own. She turned to face the source of his voice and angled her head upward toward where she presumed his face was. "I wouldn't die that easily." 

"I know," said Sabo with a smile. He placed his hand on either side of her face and moved his face forward until their foreheads touched. "That's one of the reasons why I love you," he said softly before pressing his lips against hers. The kiss was sweet and loving and gently, but it was also short and ended almost as soon as it had started. 

"Gross," said Sabo. "Your mouth is bleeding." 

"I didn't tell you to kiss me!" Countered Anastasia. "This isn't the time for that anyway. Let's get out of here." Anastasia yelped as she felt herself be lifted off of the ground. Sabo had picked her up bridal style. 

"Sabo!" She squealed. 

"You don't know the area," he explained. "This'll be faster." Anastasia didn't argue that because she knew that he was right—she was strong and she could fight, but in the end she was still blind and needed help sometimes. She realized then that Sabo had become one of the few people that she didn't mind accepting help from. Somehow, she thought, this man had gained her unwavering trust. And that thought didn't bother her as much as she had expected it to. Only because it's him, she thought. Only because it's him.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jacquotte Delahaye was a female pirate in the Caribbean sea in the mid to late 1600s. She's known for having faked her own death to escape her pursuers at a point. After which, she pretended to be a man for several years. Then when she stopped disguising herself as a man, everyone thought that she had come back from the dead and started calling her "back from the dead read" because of her red hair. She also led hundreds of other pirates.


	9. Chapter 9

"Yo!" Anastasia heard Kaito shout. She was sitting in the mess hall of the revolutionaries' headquarters with Sabo, Koala and Robin when he walked over to her. 

"What is it?" She asked her first mate. 

"Someone got a new bounty~," he sang as he placed the paper in front of her.  

"Is it me?! Is it me?!" She asked excitedly. 

"Of course. I don't understand why it was raised by so much, though." 

"I may or may not have told the guy that I was the captain." 

"And he believed you?" Questioned Kaito. 

"I told him my full name too." 

"That would explain why that's on the poster now too," Kaito murmured to himself. 

"Delahaye?" mused Robin. "You wouldn't happen to be related to the pirate Delahaye D. Jacquotte, would you?" 

"She's my grandmother. Now tell me how much I'm worth!" Shouted Anastasia. 

"500 million beri," answered Sabo. 

"Whaaaaat?! Really?" 

"Yea. They also updated the picture," he added. "It now has your purple hair and your current haircut." 

"Finally! No one ever recognized me from that old picture." Sabo chuckled at that because he knew that it was true. 

"Listen guys," she said addressing everyone in the group. "This is the start of a beautiful legacy! Yahoo!"  



End file.
